The mystery of the Great pyramid : traditions concerning it and its connection with the Egyptian Book of the dead : with numerous illustrations

CHAPTER I THE GREAT PYRAMID: THEORIES AND TRADITIONS

“No country possesses so many wonders and has such a number of works which defy description.”

Thus wrote the Greek historian, Herodotus, who visited Egypt during the fifth century B.c., in the account of his travels in that country.

Of all these wonders, none have aroused greater interest throughout all ages than the group of pyramids erected upon the Gizeh plateau, and particularly that one which, from its size and importance, has from the earliest times been known as the Great Pyramid, the largest of the three principal ones of the group.1 The Greeks of the time of Alexander the Great were so impressed by it that they regarded it as the first of the Seven Wonders of the world, of which it is the only one now left standing.”

It is not surprising therefore that the question as to the purpose for which these pyramids were built—more particularly the Great Pyramid—has proved a most fertile source of inquiry from the time of Herodotus, regarded as the father of history, down to the present. In fact, it is probably no exaggeration to say that more has been written about the Great Pyramid in particular than about any other monument of antiquity. (See Note C.)

1 The Egyptians themselves called it Khut, “‘ Light” or “ Glory ”’, and gave the name U7, or “‘ Great ’’, to the pyramid of Khafra, usually referred to as the Second Pyramid of Gizeh.

2 Great Pyramid, Colossus of Rhodes, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Diana at Ephesus, Statue of Jupiter by Phidias at Athens, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Pharos (Lighthouse) at Alexandria.

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